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Strip District merchants and residents urge council to pause Penn Avenue rightsizing plan over safety, delivery and EMS concerns
Summary
Merchants, delivery operators and residents from the Strip District urged council on Wednesday to pause DOMI’s Penn Avenue rightsizing plan, saying reducing inbound traffic to a single lane would hamper deliveries, increase congestion and delay emergency‑response times.
A string of business owners, delivery operators and residents on Wednesday urged Pittsburgh City Council and the Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI) to pause or cancel the Penn Avenue “rightsizing” plan that would reduce the street from two inbound lanes to one.
Speakers said the plan would choke deliveries, create dangerous interactions between large vehicles and slow‑moving bicycle tour vehicles, and — most centrally — would delay emergency responders. Dozens of business owners from the Strip District and operators of tour trolleys and multi‑seat bikes described the corridor as a commercial and freight artery and warned that a single travel lane would generate chronic congestion.
Why it matters: DOMI’s plan is intended to reduce vehicle speeds and improve safety but opponents argue the engineering assumptions do not reflect the Strip District’s mix of commercial, delivery and event traffic; several business owners warned that the change would create gridlock during busy periods and major events such as the NFL draft.
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